Alfalfa Mosaic Virus 
Yellow mottling or mosaic patterns on leaves. Leaf distortion, stunting, or puckering in severe cases.  Impacts many types of plants but in alfalfa, young leaves may appear yellow and twisted. Key Characteristics: Yellow, irregular mosaic leaf damage.
Learn more about Alfalfa mosaic virus

Bleeding Canker Disease 
A canker disease showing bleeding and oozing black sap, symptomatically similar to sudden oak death. In Nevada, first noticed on a mature silver maple tree in Reno, Nevada. Key Characteristics: Dark brown bleeding sap on mature trees.
LEARN MORE ABOUT Bleeding Canker Disease

Boxwood Blight
Symptoms begin with leaf spots and progress to die back with characteristic sporodochia appearing on the stems. The roots are not affected. Key Characteristics: Rapid plant dealth, white spots.
Learn more about the Boxwood Blight

Citrus Greening Disease or Huanglongbing
 Once infected with the disease, citrus trees usually decline within 5 to 12 years. Citrus greening is spread primarily by gnat-sized insects called Asian citrus psyllids. Key Characteristics: Burned shoot tips and twisted leaves on new growth, poor fruit.
Learn more about Citrus greening disease

Fire Blight 
Apple or pear branch tips look scorched, with brown or black leaves hanging on them. Sometimes a whitish to light tan fluid seeps out of the fruit. Key Characteristics:  Limbs are infected first, shepherd’s crook shaped.
Learn more about Fire Blight

Fusariam Wilt 
Palm disease often transmitted to healthy palms via pruning saws that are not disinfected after being used on diseased palms. Diseased trees often appear generally distressed and can be hard to spot. Key Characteristics: Palm fronds show an external brown strip, browning and wilt.
Learn more about Fusariam Wilt

Gladiolus Rust 
Outbreaks have occured in California. Garderners growing gladiolus should be vigilant, especially on nursery plants;  this disease has been intercepted on cut gladiolus flowers in both commercial shipments and passenger baggage. Key Characteristics: Yellow to red blister spots on the leaves of the plant. Can occur on live plants or cut flowers.
Learn more about Gladiolus Rust

Pine Needle Blight 
In northern Nevada cases of pine needle blight appear to be increasing on some species of pine. Can have a variety of causes. Key Characteristics: Adults are metallic green with bronze-colored wings. Grubs are creamy, white, C-shaped.
Learn more about Japanese Beetles

Mormon Crickets (Anabrus simplex)
Mormon crickets are flightless, ground-dwelling insects native to the western United States. They eat native, herbaceous perennials, grasses, shrubs, and cultivated forage crops. Key Characteristics: Shield-backed, short-winged katydids that resemble large grasshoppers.
Learn more about Mormon Crickets

Orange sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme [Boisduval] )
Also called alfalfa caterpillar, a common species found in natural and agricultural areas of Nevada. Key Characteristics: Fast, erratic flying butterfly, usually seen as a yellow to orange sometimes with black markings. Caterpillars are green, football shaped eggs.
Learn more about Orange sulphur butterfly 

Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula)
Often seen coming and going from their nests under the eaves of your home. With similar coloring to yellow jackets, they can be confused with their more aggressive counterparts. Key Characteristics:  Long legs, long tapered abdomens and orange-tipped antennae.
Learn more about Paper Wasps Learn About Yellow Jackets vs Wasps

Shield Bugs (Chlorochroa spp. [shield bug] ) and (Halyomorpha halys [brown marmorated stink bug] )
Sometimes called stink bugs, these plant-feeding bugs stick their piercing-sucking mouthparts into plant stems or fruit. Key Characteristics: Winged, somewhat triangular insects, release a foul odor when disturbed, variety of colors including brown and green.
Learn more about Shield Bugs

Spongy Moth, formerly Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar)
A serious insect pest of trees and shrubs. It does its damage during the caterpillar (larval) stage when it can eat as much as a square foot of leaves daily. Key Characteristics: Brownish, hairy caterpillars are easy to identify when about half-grown by pairs of red and blue dots on their backs.
Learn more about Spongy Moth

Squash Bugs (Anasa tristis)
Squash bugs use sucking mouthparts to extract plant sap, often feeding in large groups. Key Characteristics: Adult squash bugs are gray with brown wings, oval-shaped with flat abdomens. They can have alternating light/dark spots along the edges of the abdomen.
Learn more about the Squash Bug

White-lined sphinx moth or Hummingbird moth (Hyles lineata)
Caterpillars feed on a large variety of plant parts, leaves, green fruits and even stems. The adults are important pollinators. Key Characteristics: Adults have brown wings with thick tan lines. Caterpillars come in a variety of colors but have a horn in the back.
Learn more about the Hummingbird moth

Yellow Jackets (Vespula vulgaris )
Aggressive. Nests most commonly in the ground! Key Characteristics: Several similar yellowjacket species have distinct yellow and black markings and aggressive behavior.
Learn more about Yellow Jackets Learn About Yellow Jackets vs Wasps